India, May 8 -- A 17-year-old girl from Chhattisgarh's Kanker district who topped the state's Class 10 board examination on Wednesday battled blood cancer for two years and recovered, her family said.

Ishika Bala, a student of Government Higher Secondary School in Gundahur village, Kanker district, secured 99.17% in the Class 10 exam conducted by the Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education (CGBSE). She shares the top position with Naman Kumar Khuntia from Swami Atmanand Government Utkrisht English Medium School in Jashpur district.

"At times, I thought I wouldn't be able to study further. But I didn't give up. It is important to have confidence in yourself," Ishika, who hails from a village in Pakhanjore area of Kanker, a Maoist-affec...